Miles Beyond

Beulah's Miles Kurosky is back with a powerful new solo record

Miles Kurosky - "An Apple For An Apple"

Some people think the best art results from pain and emotional struggles. Artists find refuge by escaping into their work and bleeding out their emotions. For the rest of us, songs, movies and art can be where we find ourselves in our own times of struggle.

When your heart breaks, it's records about failed romance and breaking up that often come to your aid and provide the feeling that you are indeed not alone in your melancholy. On Beulah's 2003 swan song, Yoko, Miles Kurosky voiced words of genuine heartbreak with a deep sincerity that would be relatable to anyone who's ever had their heart impaled. It's never about placing blame, instead Kurosky's lyrics on Yoko were more about the acceptance of the fact that most relationships end. Kurosky and the rest of Beulah wrote the record during a time period where nearly every member of the band was struggling through a breakup or divorce. Kurosky says, "the writing and recording process for that record were kinda therapeutic." With the band well aware that Yoko would be its last record and appreciating those moments together, "the studio offered a pleasant distraction from real life."

In preparation for writing this story, I tuned into Yoko on my headphones. Kurosky's words "My love is a lot like yours/ It's been crippled by the wars we wage/ We're hopeless, we're on the losing side/ We never speak when we're making love/ You never mean it when you come to me/ With your arms stretched/ Defenseless and alone" on opener "A Man Like Me" once again struck a chord deep within and my eyes even got a bit misty—proof that the power of these songs has yet to fade.

Following the release of Yoko and a final tour, Beulah disbanded and disappeared into the realm of underappreciated bands that will be forgotten by most but cherished by its biggest fans. Kurosky found love on that final tour and since those final days of Beulah, he "got married, had some surgeries, moved to L.A., got sick, had some more surgeries, got healthy, moved to Portland, traveled a lot, bought a house, gained some weight and lost some hair." Other than writing a few songs for commercials and indie movie, Kurosky's done very little musically most due to problems involving severe shoulder problems and kidney troubles that made playing the guitar incredibly difficult.

But with a new solo album, The Desert of Shallow Effects, released earlier this month, fans can finally add another record to their collection.

When I asked him about the differences between the songwriting on The Desert of Shallow Effects versus his past work, Kurosky says, "All my songs sound like me to me. That being said, I do think the overall production is a bit more raw and chaotic, in controlled sort of way. It just seems to be teetering on the edge a little more than the production of my past work."

This should give fans some relief. The Desert of Shallow Effects sounds like it could be the fifth Beulah record, and with some of his former band mates playing on it, that's no surprise.

Kurosky may now live in Portland, but he still has a knack for creating the kind of sunshiny 1960s pop melodies that came from California. Over the course of 10 songs, Kurosky and company load layers of lush instrumentation over perfect pop. It's that Elephant 6 Collective sound that once made part Kurosky and Beulah part of one of the most beloved music collectives in indie rock history.

The "raw and chaotic" aspects Kurosky speaks of can be heard on tracks like the upbeat "An Apple For An Apple" and "I Can't Swim," which take a lot of sudden turns musically but never lose their footing. To compliment these, there's "She Was My Dresden"—possibly the warmest ballad Kurosky has written so far.

In support of his new release Kurosky is touring the U.S., and because there are many fans who've never heard Beulah songs live, he has been taking requests, telling me, "I want the shows to be truly interactive, and letting fans vote for songs seems like the most democratic way of making that happen." When asked if there's any song that he's particularly drawn to play again, he responds modestly, "Sure, I like the song 'You're Only King Once,' but it really doesn't matter what I wanna play." Though he has no choice but to strip it down because he's not in the "financial position to take 20 musicians on the road," Kurosky promises, "we'll do our best to recreate the sounds with samplers and keyboards."

However many musicians Kurosky brings along with him, fans should expect nothing less than wonderful from the former Beulah frontman and his new band.

Mar. 26, Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St. (betw. Essex & Ludlow Sts.), 212-260-4700; 7:30, $15.

Share on Facebook

Mar 23, 2010 | Categories: Features, MP3/Video, Your New Favorite Band | Tags: beulah, miles kurosky | Leave A Comment »

Video: Miles Kurosky - “Dog In The Burning Building”

Share on Facebook

Feb 23, 2010 | Categories: MP3/Video | Tags: beulah, miles kurosky | Leave A Comment »

You gotta hear this one song. It’ll change your life, I swear: Beulah - “Me And Jesus Don’t Talk Anymore”

Beulah - “Me And Jesus Don't Talk Anymore”

mp3: Beulah - “Me And Jesus Don't Talk Anymore”

Beulah's Yoko was and is the ultimate breakup album. It's an indie treasure that goes terribly overlooked and always finds its way into my headphones during the times when music feels most purposeful. Every minute is honest and sincere, both lyrically and musically. The poppier Beulah of earlier records takes a backseat but doesn't disappear entirely, which is exactly what makes it work so well. For every moment of tension and despair, there is that little bit of hope provided.

Album centerpiece "Me and Jesus Don't Talk Anymore" is the pinnacle of the successes of the album. Opening slowly with Beatles-esque harmonies over a gradually building piano melody, it takes over a minute before the vocals finally come in pleading "Don't be sad that I'm going." Give the some more time and the sadness turns a poppy tune with a gorgeous steel guitar, and then the strings come in. It's as if the song encapsulates all of the feelings of a breakup within just under 5 minutes. Sadness, desperation, realization, joy and so many other emotions all find their way into this one incredible song, and it's only a hint at the bigger picture that is Yoko in its entirety.

Very few records have ever spoken to me at this level or have meant as much to me.

Share on Facebook

Jan 26, 2010 | Categories: Features, MP3/Video, You gotta hear this one song | Tags: beulah, yoko | Leave A Comment »

Jonny Leather’s 100 Favorite Records of the Decade: 2000-2009

It's all arbitrary. Ask me again in a month and this list will be in totally different order, and a a few different records will be on the list. Actually, give me 5 minutes and this list would be different. This is just a list of my favorite records. I can't even imagine the procedure in ranking them as "best records of 2000s". I don't know if Kid A is the best record of the decade or how anyone would be able to measure something so subjective, but I know that I like Kid A better than any other record of the decade. I would love for publications such as Pitchfork, NME, and Paste to really elaborate on their processes in measuring the rankings of their year-end and decade-end lists, because to say something is the greatest album of an entire decade is a pretty huge honor. In other fields it's a bit less subjective to measure greatness. For example, Michael Jordan is considered the greatest basketball player ever based on his superior stats and the awards and championships he won, but it's not that easy with music. Ranking music is like ranking food. We all have different tastes, and there are a lot of different categories that are tough to judge against each other. Sure, we all know Nickelback sucks and some burgers taste like hockey pucks, but how do we decide if one incredibly succulent steak is better than another? We can't really.